Petrol Price hike: Have you changed your lifestyle?

We in India are getting used to hike in petrol/gas prices. It is hurting to the huge Indian middle class but we have to start facing reality. Just few days ago I saw a report which said we can expect yet another hike of Rs 5/litre.

Gas prices have been increasing in US too. Nielsen reports on how this hike has effect people in US and Canada,

Trip compression continues to dominate as a key strategy for 67 percent of households looking to save on high gas prices.

Nearly half of consumers (46%) in US will continue to seek lower priced gas stations and eat out less (45%) and over one-third (36%) will shop closer to home to offset high prices at the pump.

More and more savvy shoppers are taking advantage of incentive programs linked to grocery spending to buy gas. 28 percent of consumers say they are using their grocery shopper loyalty cards to save up to 10, 20 and 30 cents on a gallon of gas by redeeming points at participating gas stations. (this will never happen in India)

With four out of six households saying they are combining errands to reduce their driving and control their gas spending

Gas prices in Canada have increased 30 percent in the past year, which is costing the average household an additional $73 per month for a monthly outlay of $300.

The current average price in Canada for regular gasoline is $1.31 per litre, which is 30 percent higher than comparable U.S. prices

One in five households (21%) in US say they are reducing spending to a great degree. 86% of Canadians indicate that rising gas prices are impacting driving and shopping habits – a 31 percent increase since 2010.

When prices exceed $1.75 per litre, the monthly gas bill will actually exceed the grocery bill

Rising gas prices mean consumers are likely to opt for more stay-at-home activities. More than half (55%) of Canadians say they plan to do more things at home.

One-third of households will consider grocery home delivery (32%), shop close to home (31%), seek out low-priced gas stations (31%), use lower grades of gas (31%) and 14 percent will eat out less often.

Overall consumer shopping trips are down.

One coping mechanism to minimize drive time is using a carpool, which is being deployed by 24 percent of households.

One in five (21%) plan to buy less expensive brands, 17 percent intend to purchase larger pack sizes, 15 percent will look for savings at warehouse club outlets, 12 percent say they will combine errands/trips, 11 percent aim to stock up the pantry and 4 percent are determined to save by using more coupons.

Unlike in India, gas prices keep varying between gas stations in US and Canada. People find the cheapest gas station in their area from sites like GasBuddy.

Car Pooling

Car pooling is one way to save on your petrol bill but I feel we are not that open to car pooling in India. Few sites are out there for car pooling, haven’t seen any of them rocking. I car pool during weekends with friends but can’t see that happening for my work.